Gate.



' PATENTED-MAY 31, 1904.

E. W. EASLEY.

GATE.

APPLIGATION FILED JAN. 25. 1904.

N0 MODEL.

U ITED STATES Patented May 31, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

GATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 761,064, dated May 31, 1904.

' Application filed January 25, 1904. Serial No. 190,496. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

openers, which type is characterized byv mechanism through or by which the gate may be readily operated from a point some distance from the gate proper and in some cases without alighting from the vehicle or conveyance.

The gate, which will be described in detail herein after, is designed as an improvement on that gate shown and described in a patent issued to me on the 9th day of June, 1903, and numbered 730,354, and has the same general features of construction disclosed in said patent.

The gate which I have now devised possesses certain improvements over the old type which'renders it much more satisfactory,

chief among which is the novel construction which I have invented for adjusting the gate to compensate for vertical sag and the means for regulating the swing of the gate, so as to bring it always to proper latching position and obviate any tendency ofthe gate due to inaccuracies in the placing or leaning of the set posts, to swingbeyondorshort of its proper position relative. to its latching-post. Briefly, I accomplish these two results by pro-.

viding for a longitudinal adjustmentof the upper gate-supporting membenupon its post,

which longitudinal adjustment'takes care of any vertical sag, and a transverse adjustment of the lower gate-supporting member upon the post, which adjustment regulates the swing of the gate. me to fix with certainty the movement of the gate and bring it to an accurate relation, both vertically and horizontally, with its latchingpost. I

Other details of construction will appear hereinafter, and in the claims appended hereunto I shall s et forth those features which are novel and of my invention.

. the plate 8 in its seat.

These two adjustments enable In order that the invention may be better understood, 1 have illustrated one embodiment of the same in the drawings herewith, in which drawings Figure 1 is a side view of agate constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the gate shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective View of the upper adjustable supporting member. Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view through the upper end of the gate-post, showing the adjustable gatesupporting member and the gate-operating lever mounted thereon. Fig. 5'is a perspective View of the lower adjustable gate-supporting member.

Referring to the drawings by numerals, like numbers denoting like parts in the several views, 1 indicates a gate of any suitable or desirable construction hung'between posts 2 and 3, post 2 constituting the hingepost, while 3 is the latch-post for the gate 1 when the latter is in closed position. Y

At the top of gate 1 is secured a hinge-plate 4, in which is mounted a rod 5, the lower end of which is stapled or otherwise suitably secured to the gate, as at 6. (See Fig. 1.) Said rod 5 passes through one end of a lever 7, pivoted to a gate-supporting member or plate 8, secured tothe top of the hinge-post The said plate 8, which forms the support for the gate at its top, is seated in a mortise or channel in the top of the post 2, so as to be firmly fixed against lateral play, but is adjustable longitudinally in its seat bymeans of a clamping bolt or screw 9, which passes through a slot 10 in plate 8 and is fixed in the post 2 and provides for the adjustment and securing of It is apparent that by adjusting the plate 8 longitudinally in its seat in the top of the post 2 in one direction or the other the forward end of the gate 1 may be raised or lowered and the latch 11 brought to a proper vertical adjustment with relation to the latch-post 3, so that any inaccurate placing of the posts 2 and 3 or any sagging of the gate or posts during use may be quickly and easily corrected. Said plate 8 has upon its upper surface and by preference cast integral therewith a raised arc-shaped track or bearing-surface 13, which forms a support or bearing for the lever 7, said track 13 being of inverted-V shape in cross-section and having stops 1 1 at its ends to limit the throw of the lever 7, and thus prevent derangement of the parts. To further strengthen the construction of the plate 8, a longitudinal rib 15, abutting upon the track 13 on either side, is provided, thus materially strengthening the plate 8 and its integral track. In order that the lever 7 may not be unduly strained or bent by the weight of the gate bearing down upon the forward end thereof, which result might occur if the lever 7 had its bearing on the V-shaped rib or track 13 only, to prevent jamming or binding, and to render its movements smooth and easy I provide the plate 8 with a raised boss of a height equal to that of the track 13, upon its movements are smooth and easy and fric' tion is reduced to a minimum. A further advantage of the raised bearing-points .for the operating-lever is that the said lever 7 is raised clear of the'clamping-bolt 9 and no interference with the'movements of the lever can arise.

Through the boss 15 on plate 8 passes a rod 16, which rod 16 is fixed to the lever 7 in any suitable manner, (see Fig. 41,) so as to turn therewith, and forms the pivot'of the said lever 7. The lower end of said .rod 16 has a cranked portion 17, which engages a hingeplate 18 on the gate near its bottom, and between this connection and the" upper supporting member 'or plate 8 is placed the lower adjustable support. two nested L shaped plates, one of which, plate 19, has aprojecting lip 20 at its lower edge, said plate 19 being secured to the gatepost 2in anysuitable manner and having a pin or lug 21 projecting from its face, said lug the face of plate 19 by a nut 24, threaded on the end of the pin or lug' 21, and by simply loosening nut 24: said plate 22 may be shifted laterally in either direction along the supporting-lip 20 by reason of the slot-and-pin connection. The crank-rod 16 passes through said supporting-plate 22, a hole being provided'in the horizontal portion of said plate to receive the rod, and it is apparent that by moving the plate 22 in one direction or the other the normal position of rest of the crankrod 16 and the angular movement of the crank 17 at its lower end will be altered.

This support comprises 'Such adjustment of the supporting member so will the position of rest of the forward end thereof be adjusted and the movements of the gate so regulated as that it will swing to a certain position relative to the latch-post 3, and provision is thereby made for correcting any inaccuracy in the swing of the gate due to setting of the posts or displacement thereof without the labor of resetting the posts.

The operation of the gate is as follows: Assuming that the gate 1 is closed, as shown in full-line positionin Fig. 1, if the lever 7 be thrownin the direction of the arrow, Fig. 2, the top of the gate will be thrown to one side of a vertical line. The bottom of the gate will be moved in an opposite direction by means of the crank 17 at its lower end, the rod 16, as will be remembered, being fixed in and turning with lever 7. Theactionof the lever 7 and crank 17 not only shifts the center of gravity of the gateand brings about a state of unstable equilibrium, which will cause the gate to swing to the open dotted-line position shown in Fig. 2, but it also elevates the front end of the gate, so as to lift the latch 11 from its latch-plate 12, and frees the gate. It may be here stated that the latch 11 is provided' with a hand-lever 25 for use by pedestrians, for it is clear that the gate may be swung in the ordinary manner without operating the lever 7 and crank 17. In order that the lever-and-crank mechanism may be manipulated at a distance from the gate and without alighting from the vehicle, I provide a thrustrod 26, which is connected at one end with lever 7 and at the other end is attached to a hand-lever 27, pivotally mounted on a post 28, said post 28 being placed at some'distance from the post 3, so that when the gate is manipulated from a vehicle there will be room enough for it to'swing to open position without striking the team or-vehicl'e which has been driven up to it. I Between the post 2 and the post 28 I place a latch-post 29-, against which the gate rests in its open position. In order that the gate may beoperated from either side, a'thrust-rod 30 is provided to work from the side opposite to that from which the rod 27 is manipulated.

While I have shown the gate as swinging in one direction only, it will be obvious that the gate 1 might engage a center latch on the face of latch-post 3 instead of a side-latch on one side thereof, as shown, and this variation in construction, as well as other changes coming within the range of mechanical skill, I consider to be within the scope of my invention.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination with a gate, of an operating-lever to which said gate is hinged at its top, a crank-rod depending from said lever to which said gate is hinged at its bottom, an adjustable support for said lever, and a support for said crank-rod adjustable at right angles to the line of adjustment of said lever-support.

2. The combination with a gate, of a suitable supporting-post, a slotted plate mortised into the top of said post and longitudinally adjustable thereon, a gate supporting and operating lever pivoted on said plate, a crankrod depending from said lever, and a support for said crank-rod adjustable at right angles to the line of adjustment of said slotted leversupporting plate.

3. The combination with a gate, of a suitable supporting-post, a slotted plate mortised into the top of said post and longitudinally adjustable thereon, said plate having a raised integral arc-shaped track and a pivot-boss to form bearings, a gate supporting and operating lever having its hearings on said track and boss, a crank-rod depending from said lever through said pivot-boss and serving as a pivotal support for said lever, and a support for the lower end of said crank-rod secured to said post and adjustable at right angles to the line of adjustment of said slotted lever-sup porting plate.

4. A gate-support comprising a slotted adjustable plate having a raised arc-shaped track, V-shaped in cross-section; and a raised pivotboss; and a gate supporting and operatinglever mounted on said plate and taking its bearing on said track and boss; whereby friction between the said supporting-plate and the lever upheld thereby is reduced.

5. A gate-support comprising two nested L-shaped plates, one of which plates is fixed to a post, and the other of which plates is adjustable on said fixed plate.

6. A gate-support comprising two L-shaped plates, one of which is fixed to the post and provided with a projecting lug, and the other of which is slotted transversely to engage said lug and permit its adjustment on said fixed plate.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EMZY W. EASLEY.

Witnesses:

HERBERT T. FALLIS, JAs. W. ETHINGTON. 

